Meet the Parents
by Thre3
Summary: S5. Speculation for 5x08 "After Hours" What happens when Jim meets Castle, Martha meets Beckett & then they meet each other...?
1. Kate Beckett

**A/N**: Probably Cause made me sad, so I'm writing a one shot that has absolutely nothing to do with it! **Four points of view:** Beckett, Jim, Castle & Martha. (Separate chapters that will be labelled accordingly) I'm not very good at writing in first person, so feedback is appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: Castle isn't mine.

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Coffee. It was too early for me to be awake and I needed coffee. Here, I stand in Castle's room, getting ready for work.

"Castle, where's my coffee?" I tried to make myself sound stern but sometimes his childishness can rub off on you I guess.

"I'm coming!" he called back in a sing song voice. This was it. He walked in through his bedroom door holding two cups of coffee. It was time for me to tell him something my father had suggested a few days ago. I had been putting it off for obvious reasons.

"Castle, my Dad wants to meet you," I said quickly. I just wanted to get this discussion out of the way.

"He's already met me," he said confusedly. Tilting his head to one side like that made him look like a little puppy dog. Like I said, meeting the parents is risky for many reasons. One of the most obvious reasons being Castle himself. The man of two divorces, which of course my Dad knew about.

"He wants to _meet_ you. I guess he just wants to know the man who seems to be monopolising most of my time," I said, grabbing one of the cups of coffee from him.

"Okay, sure. Dinner? Maybe we should invite Mother so we can this all out of the way in one sitting," he suggested with a furrowed brow.

"No, I think we should just do this with us alone together. First, my Dad. Then, Martha. Only three people at time. That way he can get it out of his system," I bit my lip as the words flew right out of my mouth. I don't think that my Dad will hate him exactly…

"Get what out of his system? You think he's going to freak out at the fact that we're dating? Wait, why do you seem so agitated about this?" he asked me this as though he didn't know.

Actually, I don't think he did. How could he not?

"Does Jim _know_ it's me?" he stopped sipping his coffee and stared at me long and hard. What does that question mean? Okay, so maybe I should have told him that it was Castle. But why does it matter if he's making me happy, right?

"Please, just-" I stopped myself from saying be yourself and instead chose a different phrase, "act likeable,"

"What do you mean _act_ likeable? I'm likeable," he shrugged and sat down on his bed, "Don't_ you_ like me?"

"Jury's still out on that one," I narrowed my eyes at him and took a sip of my coffee.

"Well, then maybe I should plead my case to them later…_tonight,_"

XXX

I don't know if I should be worried or not. I am about to walk into the first dinner I've had with my Dad and somebody else, in…a while. I can't quite recall exactly when I had dinner alone with my father, let alone with company.

I suggested that we arrive at the restaurant separately. I don't know how that would help but it seems to calm me for some reason. I hiked up my dress slightly, in an effort to make it easier to walk in. A waiter showed me to the reserved table, I wasn't expecting to see Rick already sitting there and conversing with my Dad.

"Hi Dad," I walked and stood next to him as he stood up to kiss my cheek. I turned over and looked at Castle, trying to communicate to him that he was early.

"Hey," I moved in to kiss his cheek as well, then I noticed that he was sweating…excessively, "You're sweating. What's going on? You okay?" I smiled and tried to keep him at ease, to avoid any more perspiration.

"Yeah," he squeaked, "Yeah. No, I'm fine," he overcompensated, "You're Dad and I were just having a little chit chat," he started clearing his throat loudly.

"Okay," I sat down in the free chair Castle had pulled out for me, "Thanks," I smiled, but he was definitely not at ease anymore. Now, I really need to know what he said before I got here. I'm getting nervous just looking at him. I needed to stop staring at him so much, so I picked up my napkin and fiddled with it as I placed it down on my lap.

"So, Katie, Rick tells me that he's started filling out some paperwork these days as help you with the cases?" I froze and turned my head slightly to look at Castle. He had a sheepish grin on his face.

"Wow, did he say that?" I looked up at Dad and he started to smile slyly.

"What else would be the reason you two spend so much time together outside of work?" It was then that I realised he was messing with us.

"Actually paperwork is done at the Precinct itself," Castle chimed in. I glared at him, trying to tell him that Dad was only joking but it was too late.

"Right. So is that why Katie told me that she couldn't talk on the phone the other night? She had company; I assume she meant you,"

"The other night?" I could physically see Castle gulp. This was going to be a_ long_ night.

XXX

"…that's when I decided I would never have the self-control to become a vegetarian," Castle laughed at his own humour and took a sip of wine. I laughed as well and followed suit.

"I see," I looked at Dad when he started speaking. He had a certain look on his face that made me fear what he was going to say next, "Well enough about food. Let's talk about the two of you,"

_Oh God. _

"Yep. One plus one equals two!" Castle exclaimed. I cocked an eyebrow and pulled the bottle of wine away before he could reach for it.

"You two went to the Hamptons together. How was that?" Dad swiped at his face briefly with his napkin and then put it away, indicating we had his full attention, "Did you have fun? Was it worthwhile?"

_Fun. Worthwhile? _The words just seemed to echo in my head over and over again.

"Um…w-why?" I managed to choke the word out.

"I was considering going there!" _My_ Dad in the Hamptons? _Right._

"Well, let me tell you this," I looked over at Castle. What is he doing? He's tipsy, on the verge of being drunk! _What is he doing_? "It is no fun unless you have a companion and some whipped cream a-and apple pie!" At that moment, I could not believe what I was hearing. I couldn't even conjure up any control over my jaw to let it drop in shock. I sucked in a deep breath and watched Dad as he shifted in his chair uncomfortably.

"Rum and Coke," I muttered under my breath, thinking about how much Castle had had to drink tonight, "_And_ wine," I added in annoyance. I guess Rick must have heard me, because he wouldn't stop glaring at me. His glare soon switched to confusion.

"There was Coke in that Rum?" he laughed. I turned back to my Dad; he could barely even look at me anymore. I swallowed hard and took a sip of water.

"I think we might get going soon Dad," I tried to excuse myself earlier than planned, so I could go bury my head with embarrassment.

"No Katie. Please stay, talk to me about work. Its fine," I frowned and acknowledged the fact that he was ignoring what Castle had just said about whipped cream, entertainment _and me_ in the Hamptons.

"Well I'm sure know she arrests people with handcuffs," I looked at Castle again, where was he going with this? "But I'm positive you didn't think about the other recreational activities-" Before he could finish his sentence, I practically leapt across the table and covered his mouth with my palm.

"Thanks. I am so sorry Dad, but we really have to get going. Thank you for such a lovely dinner and I really hoped we wouldn't have to cut it short," I stood up quickly and grabbed Castle's hand, pulling him with me. Dad stood up as well and Castle raised his hand to his head.

"Whoa, you stood up way too quickly," he said.

"Again, thank you Dad. It was really great to see you," I leaned in to kiss Dad's cheek again and couldn't help noticing the disappointment in his face eyes as I pulled back. It made me feel anger towards Castle and suddenly reminded me of his extreme perspiration earlier that evening.

We turned to leave and when my Dad was out of ear shot, I started speaking to Castle. "You have _got _to tell me what happened before I got here," I said through gritted teeth and a forced smile.

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**A/N**: Chapter Two, yes or no?

**P.S**: The last Chapter will be Martha and Jim meeting each other,_ if_ people want me to continue with this story.


	2. Martha Rodgers

**Pat Toby:** thanks for the idea!

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Castle. I just wish I was awesome enough to write an episode for the show ;)

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I do believe that I am a great actress. I have fans, so yes; I take pride in my line of work. But even_ I_ can't pretend to be not surprised by the fact that Kate Beckett is dating_ my_ son. No one could deny the tension between the two of them and I'm not saying that I'm not happy for him finally getting his act together but I_ am_ surprised.

I've been instructed to go easy on her tonight when we have dinner because apparently the dinner with her father didn't go as planned.

"I found myself hallucinating!" Richard practically screamed at me when he got home from the dinner. I wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that remark, but I decided to go with it.

"It can't have been that bad dear," when I say that, I mean that. Richard has been known to over react on things ever since he was a child. He walked over to the couch and fell down face first, burying his head in a throw pillow.

"He hates me Mother!" he half yelled. By this time, I didn't know what else to say. The _only_ person who _could_ make him feel better about _anything_ like this was Alexis.

"Well when are we going to dinner?" I looked at him with nothing but a serious expression. He looked at me like I had just killed someone. He stood up off the couch and walked over to the fridge, grabbing the can of whipped cream and slamming the door shut so hard it swung back open.

"You don't think we're actually going to continue this madness, do you?" he started shaking his head rapidly and spraying whipped cream in his own mouth. So unsanitary, I've been put off whipped cream for a very long time.

"Well, I think it's only fair that I meet the man that did this to my son," I put my hands on my hips and stood with my feet planted firmly on the floor. I hadn't needed to be this stern with him since…well, actually it wasn't as long ago as people think.

"Fine, but you have to meet Beckett first. I don't want you meeting…_Jim_ for a while," he shuddered when he said Jim's name.

"What's wrong? Why are you so reluctant to say Jim or to even talk about what happened that night?" I really could not think of what might have happened in the short period of time Kate wasn't there.

"I may be over reacting but I just don't want to talk about it ok? Now, I know. First impressions _are_ everything," he said before slurping down some more whipped cream.

"Well, can you tell me when this dinner will be so I can prepare?" I demanded.

"I don't know. I'll talk to Kate, probably in a week or something like that,"

XXX

The entire night, I sat across from the most exquisite woman my son has ever dated. She was definitely different and not much like any of the other _bimbos_ he's been with before. I've thought about this before and I could have said it earlier, but now I feel as though I have seen another side of Kate. A side that is much less of a Detective and more of…Kate being herself, I think.

"Can I just say that I am very happy you two finally got your act together," I said, filling in a silence that had been there for a few minutes.

"I blame you. It really shouldn't have taken_ this_ long," Richard looked at Kate and pointed his finger at her, literally.

"Well, this is what happens when _you_ sit in silence for four years," she put her glass down and shrugged at him.

"I, for one, am glad that its happened at all," I interrupted, "I'm happy he's decided to settle down with you Kate. Better late than never, right?" As soon as I said the words _settle down_, they both seemed to freeze, Kate was looking at me with still eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure what you mean," she smiled and laughed slightly.

"Well, I mean that if he's going to be married to anyone again, I'm very happy it's you. I approve," I gestured across the table with one hand. Kate's head whipped around quickly and looked at Richard. He held his arms up in surrender.

"Marriage?" she said in a harsh whisper, "What is she talking about?"

"She's sitting right there. She can hear you," he said. I felt very out of place and extremely embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," I said quickly, hoping to rectify the problem.

"No, Martha please don't apologise!" she shook her head and smiled at me.

"No, I _am_ sorry. You shouldn't even thinking about marriage or kids right now," I laughed, but Kate's face seemed to go whiter.

"Kids too huh?" she tried to smile, but it wasn't convincing. So, she decided to drink her glass of wine in one gulp. I'd made her uncomfortable. This was not good, I needed to find something else to talk about, _fast_.

"So, I'm dying to know how the dinner with your father went," I spoke the first words that came into my mind and watched as the colour drained out of my son's face now. Kate seemed to notice the same thing I was, because now she was sniggering.

"You know, I'd like to know what happened before I arrived," she said before looking down at her glass again. Her face fell when she realised there was nothing left in it.

"I'd like World Peace but we can't all have what we want," he said casually, maintaining his calm voice, but his expression gave him away, "That was an awful night and we shall never speak of it again. Oh look! A waiter, _Thank God_!" the waiter slowly approached our table.

Kate ordered another bottle of wine and I watched as she avoided eye contact with me and slowly sunk down low in her seat.

"Would I be rude if asked how long you two have been dating?" I was curious to know why Kate had such a huge problem with commitment. "When did you first _officially_ start dating?"

"Well, I wouldn't really have an exact date for you Mother," he started coughing and clearing his throat.

"Yeah everything kind of happens…so fast, who really keeps track of it?" Kate looked at me for the first time in almost 20 minutes.

"So you don't know?' I asked, now completely confused.

"No, we um…know. We just don't _know _know. In fact, I think _you_ know, so can we_ please_ drop this?" Richard said, giving me a knowing and unpleased look.

Okay, I didn't know what to do anymore. We couldn't talk about their relationship at a dinner that was meant to be _about their relationship_. Jim Beckett's dinner could not have been as bad as this one.

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**A/N**: I'm sorry, I don't know how to write Martha-ey. I hope this was okay.

Thank you for the brilliant response I have received from everyone about this story! I hope that this Chapter still captures your interest and you like it enough to read right through to the last chapter! (I hope to have it up before the actual episode)

Is this story still worthy of continuation?


	3. Rick Castle

**A/N**: I hope you guys weren't expecting some sort of scrag fight between Jim and Castle because all you're getting is this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: Don't Own Castle

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_I say I'm ruggedly handsome but let's all be honest with ourselves here. No one is kidding…_I am_. So with a personality like this and a face like mine, who should have any kind of problem meeting a parent you've already met? Not me, that's for damn certain. _

That confidence right there is a very distant memory. What happened that night with Jim is something I don't want to relive.

Before I left, I swore I would not flashback to my days as a kid being interrogated by my girlfriend's dad. I'm overreacting slightly, but, I have to admit I was a little intimidated by him. Is that so wrong? It wasn't really him; it was just the whole concept of meeting the parents and the territory that comes with that.

So, being the genius I am, I decided to go to the dinner very early and see if I could sneak a couple words in myself, before Beckett got there. Maybe, I'd make Kate feel a little better and that wouldn't be so bad, right?

Wrong! I was so, so wrong.

XXX

First Mistake: Arriving too early. I arrived so early, Jim wasn't even there yet. So of course, I sat by myself at the table and ordered a glass of wine. Come on, I wasn't going to get drunk or anything. Just a glass of wine…or two. But then he arrived. I cleared my throat and stood up in preparation and anticipation of _the handshake_.

A man's handshake is supposed to say a lot about who he is. Apparently, J. Edgar Hoover used to fire agents on the spot if their palms were sweaty when they shook his hand. But Jim was no J. Edgar. Not from what I've seen so far.

I had stood up too early because he took his time walking to the table, apparently he knew the waiter. They were talking for what seemed like forever. I continued standing and tried not to look bored because I could see he was looking at me and trying to pry himself away from the conversation.

By the time he arrived at the table I was already slouching and yawning.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said with a smile, holding his hand out to shake mine. I found myself standing there and staring at his hand like it was some kind of foreign object for almost two minutes. Nearing the end of the second minute, I jerked forward and grabbed his hand.

"Sorry, no problem, I'm here early anyway," I coughed at sat down in my seat when the waiter approached to fill my glass up again. Out of sheer boredom of course, I started sipping the smooth red liquid. He gave me a funny look and then took a small sip of his own glass.

I still had some wine in my mouth when he decided it was time for small talk.

"So I hear you and Kate are having se-" I couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth. Before he could finish that word with an X, I spat my wine out of my mouth in surprise.

"What?" I choked out. Once, he was done wiping the wine off of his face and hands, he looked down at his suit in horror. Thankfully there were no stains.

"I said I guess I'll be meeting Martha next," he frowned at me and continued to wipe the wine off himself. The funny thing was, the wine only hit _his_ face and hands, most of it anyway. Ok, it wasn't funny at the time. I spat wine on my father-in-law. Well not in-law but...well, _he's Kate's dad._

What was wrong with me? How I could I have misheard what he said when he spoke and said _next?_

"I am _so_ sorry," I stood up to go and help him but he stopped me from taking another step.

"Don't. Maybe you should just stay over there Mr. Castle," the way he said my name almost sounded like an insult. I didn't really know how to respond to it, so I did what I do best. I made a joke. Or I _thought_ it was funny but he clearly didn't.

"Isn't Mr. Castle a little too formal?" I said, sitting back down again. He gave me a stone cold look, as though to say _that's what I was aiming for._

"You tell me," he slowly cocked an eyebrow, his eyes fixated on mine. I felt like I was going to be his next kill or something. The air grew stiff, so I turned the table back onto him.

"What about _your_ name? I don't know what to call you," I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders so high they were almost touching my ears. I took another sip of my glass of wine when I realised it was nearly empty.

"What did you have in mind," Okay, I was definitely his next kill. I swear he never even blinked, it was pretty scary. I could feel my forehead dampen slightly, so I started talking again.

"Maybe I could give you a nickname huh? How 'bout Jimmy? Jim Jam? Jeepers? Jimmin' Jewels…Jiminy…Jiminy Cricket?" I broke out into wild laughter, and now I realise that laughter must have been from how much I had already had to drink that night. Literally, all I got from him after that _was_ the sound of crickets.

"Maybe we should just get to know each other first…" he spoke slowly and tapped one finger on the table with impatience. God, when was Kate going to arrive? She wasn't even here yet and the whole night was ruined simply because I chose to arrive early.

"Right," I said, looking down at my lap.

"So, Rick Castle. Famous Mystery Novelist," he began drumming all his fingers on the table, he got more comfortable in his seat. My worst fear of the night had been confirmed, he was going to interrogate me. If I wasn't feeling like I'm back in high school earlier, then I _was_ _now_. It was so nerve wracking, but then I reminded myself that I'm a grown man.

"Yeah," how was I supposed to respond to that statement?

"You must lead a busy life," he shrugged and sat up straighter. I could feel a bead of sweat roll down the side of my head. The waiter came by and refilled our glasses again. Forcing a smile, I raised my glass in a toasting fashion.

"It's a hard knock life," I laughed and put my glass down. He chuckled unenthusiastically.

"Of course. I can only imagine a rich man like yourself. What could he possibly want with _my_ daughter? I mean, how _do_ you make the time for her with such a _hard knock_ life?" he stared at me and waited for my response. By this point, I had dug myself in too deep, so without thinking, I spoke whatever came to my lips.

"She _is_ my life,"

"I beg your pardon?" he sat up even taller, which I didn't think was possible. After all, he isn't the most intimidating man in the world. My sweat was pretty much free flowing down my face. But you couldn't notice it unless you were close to me, so I ran with it.

Whatever came out of my mouth from this moment forth, I held no responsibility for. Trust me, I'm lucky enough to even remember it!

"I am in love with Kate and though she hasn't said anything, I know she loves me too. With all due respect, she's an adult now and she can't forever remain your _Katie_. Kate has made her decision and I'm part of her life. Realistically there isn't anything you can do about that 'cos I'm not going anywhere. I've been through thick and thin with her and I definitely couldn't imagine a day without her. You can't make me feel like any less of a man or like I'm not good enough for her because whether you think so or not, I am and you can't convince me otherwise _Jimmy_,"

My shoulders collapsed in fatigue and I wasn't sure whether what I had said was coherent or not. He looked at me with confusion, like he didn't know what had brought this on. Had I imagined the whole interrogation thing? I wouldn't be surprised if I had.

I heard footsteps coming to our table and a familiar voice.

"Hi Dad," as soon as Kate made an appearance, I felt the adrenalin rush right _out _of me and I was just a boy in high school again.

She commented on my sweating and I tried not to let my voice break.

I really hope that wasn't my imagination.

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**A/N**: I really hope you guys didn't hate it. Also, I hope no one is OOC! I know it wasn't what you were expecting, but don't shun the story, just one chapter to go!


	4. Jim Beckett

**Happy Birthday Sarah**

Behold the last chapter of _**Meet the Parents**_! As always, I hope no one is OOC. I've never written Jim before so help me please, I always appreciate it!

**Note**: This is not what I think might happen; I just find this a funny scenario to write about.

**Don't own Castle! **

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No one fears this dinner more than I. If this dinner is anything like the one I had with Rick, then his mother ought to be a _treat_. In case you didn't get that, I was being sarcastic. Katie told me that she had planned on a relaxed atmosphere for the dinner to try avoiding people stressing out too much. So, that meant we were going to _his_ loft.

Now, this means anything could happen. To be honest, I'm a little scared. I really don't know what to expect tonight, but technically all of this was _my_ idea.

XXX

So I drive to his loft and surprisingly, he's not even there. So I'm forced to stand outside for two minute when a car shows up with my daughter inside.

"Dad, you're here already?" she looked at me like I was wielding a knife, but behind that was genuine happiness that I knew she only felt when she was with him. She had exited the car laughing, and though she was surprised to see me, Kate could not contain that smile.

"Evening M-Mr. Beckett?" Rick cocked his eyebrow slightly as he tried to figure out was appropriate for the occasion in terms of what to call me.

"Jim's fine," I shook his hand in an effort to put him at ease. It seemed to work, until Martha showed up.

"Hello Darlings!" she announced herself loud enough for the neighbours to hear.

"Mother," Rick's tone was laced heavily with warning. Katie looked at her and chuckled slightly, she still appeared to be giddily happy after being with Rick.

"Hi Martha," Kate moved in for a half kiss hug kind of thing that women do sometimes. Must be some sort of understanding between them. That's why handshakes are so much easier.

"Martha Rogers," she approached me with a friendly smile and shook my hand in a dainty fashion. I smiled back, so far so good.

"I know, we've met," I laughed and returned the gesture.

"Yes, but we are here to formally acknowledge our children finally becoming a couple, so I think formal greetings are in order," she laughed and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Oh yeah," I put on hand in my pocket and waited to be welcomed inside as Kate and Rick started rushing around.

"Okay, let's start with drinks. Cocktail anyone?" Rick clapped his hands together and smiled at everyone pleasantly. This evening was yet to show any kind of unpleasant excitement, the kind you'd gossip about later. I don't gossip though.

"I'll just have Red Wine dear," Martha waved her hand dismissively and then turned to face me. I jumped, feeling a little startled by her expression. "We should spend time getting to know each other."

"Okay. I haven't done this in a while so," I stopped briefly to accept my drink from Rick, "Where do we begin? I mean is this really that important? Shouldn't we really be discussing our kids?"

"Well it isn't referred to as _meeting the parents_ for no reason," she forced a smile, "We're the Parents, I thought this evening was to reflect on the role we play in this relationship,"

"But that's the thing, it's _their _relationship," I had given up on smiling at this point and so had she.

"Dad, it's okay I thin-" Katie had tried to stop the argument that was about to break out but Martha interrupted. She interrupted _my_ little girl.

"Kate darling, we're fine. I just making the point that because we raised you, we should be involved in your relationships because we have a right know," she said smoothly.

"Sure, I raised my daughter and I wouldn't her to become involved in anything wrong but I raised her to make her own decisions and I trust her to do so," I was aiming for a gentle gesture towards Kate but it came off as a hard pump in her direction.

"I like to be close to my son," she put her glass of wine down on the table, as though she was offended.

"Mother," – "Dad," Rick and Kate spoke at the same time. I felt awful, they both looked so embarrassed because we hadn't even started dinner yet and we were already disagreeing.

"How close is too close? He's a grown man, not your personal puppy dog," as soon I'd said it, I wish I hadn't. It was unbelievably rude and Rick's head shot up like a meerkat's when he heard it. Martha gasped and was rendered speechless.

"Dad, stop! Where is this coming from!?" Katie looked horrified at the fact that I had compared her boyfriend to a dog. It wasn't that bad was it?

"I'm sorry Rick, I really didn't mean that," I stood up without knowing what to do next. Martha wouldn't look at me, not even in my general direction. Were they all over reacting? Or had I really ruined the entire night without even finishing cocktail hour?

XXX

You could say that the rest of the night was less than enthusing. Dinner was so quiet and awkward, I could feel everyone's eyes on me but when I looked up, everybody would be merely avoiding one another's glances and eating their dinner. Though they were trying to be subtle, I could tell that Kate was practically having an entire nonverbal conversation with Rick across the table.

I knew that the silence was because of what Martha and I had said earlier that evening, whether she would admit it or not. So, I apologised and said what I could to rectify things but even after that, there was certain stiffness to the air between Rick and Kate. I was sure there was definitely no rectifying the relationship Martha and I shared, if you could call the little communication we had a _relationship_.

Sure she means well, but I think she could 'mean well' without being so invasive. I guess now I know where Rick gets certain personality traits from.

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**A/N**: Okay this chapter is not what I was expecting, so I can't begin to imagine what you must have thought of it. Thanks for reading!


	5. Alexis Castle's Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

**For Delissa Mowding (Delmo) & Marah Sanners. **

**A/N**: Written before Sneak Peek #4 **IN Alexis' P.O.V **for the first half. Second half is in third person**. **

**Disclaimer: **Don't Own Castle

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College is exhausting enough, but when you're instructed to come home for a dinner with your family, you forget all the problems. Or that might just be me. So my Dad tells me that it's time for him to officially "Meet the Parents" which is something he claims he hasn't done for a _while_. I'm going home to officially meet Jim, even though I already met him when Detective Beckett was in hospital.

Dad texted me prior to the dinner telling me that he blew it with Jim and then texted me during the dinner, whilst I was on my way home, telling me to hurry up and show because of the…_awkwardness_. His words, not mine.

I'm an hour and half late. Anything could have happened in that time. So I'm walking in through the door, when my Dad practically pounces on me in relief.

"Alexis, thank God you're here! They hate each other," he whispered in my ear as he hugged me. I furrowed my brow and walked to the dining room table.

"Okay, I'm sure it's not that bad. What happened?" before he could answer me, we were standing by the dinner table. I never realised how short that walk was going to be. Oh well. I went and properly introduced myself to Jim, shaking his hand. Then Beckett came over to me, I really didn't know what to do, so I tried my best not to make it, for lack of a better word, awkward.

"Hi," I said stiffly. I wasn't trying to be so frigid but it kind of just happened. Everything I said after that just sounded so abrupt and rude. She decided to take the reins on this one and pulled me in for a kind of hug type gesture.

"Kate," she whispered reassuringly, "Call me Kate," she pulled back and sat down as I thought about whether or not I've ever referred to her as _just Kate_.

I took my place at the table and served myself the same drink Jim was having. What do I call _him_? Jim, it is. Everybody seemed to fall silent, then I dropped my fork and it made a loud clanging sound. All of sudden, all eyes were on me.

"Sorry," I said softly.

"Alexis, tell me about campus life," Jim asked. He seemed so nice, why would Gram hate him?

"Are you sure you're not being too _invasive_?" Gram said bitterly. Wow, where did that come from and what did I miss? At that point, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to know or not.

XXX

I spent the entire night talking about myself and College. It was awful. Dad wouldn't talk to Jim. Jim wouldn't talk to Gram. Gram would only talk to me. Dad would occasionally look at Kate who seemed to have her eyes fixated on me as well and when Jim wasn't talking to Kate he'd stare at me.

No one could have any kind of idea of how self-conscious I felt. I knew Dad and Kate weren't mad at each other but something was definitely up. Like it was a spat buried just below the surface that would break out as soon as everyone left. I really didn't want to be here for that.

"Um, dessert?" I asked, hopefully everyone would be distracted by some more food. We'd finished dinner over a half hour ago but nobody seemed to want _me_ to stop talking. I have never been so tired of hearing my own voice.

So finally, dessert has been brought around and everyone seems not quite so hungry anymore.

"I'm going to go," Jim blurts out suddenly. He scuffled his napkin between his hands and stood up from the table.

"So soon?" Kate asked with a disappointed tone.

"Katie I've been here for over 3 hours," he chuckled, hugging her.

"3 hours too long," Gram looked at him with crossed arms. Dad and Kate looked at her, both straight faced but neither one knew how to respond to that remark, "3 hours that I will never get back. That's for sure. Could you have been any less boring?"

"Mother, stop." Dad stood up suddenly. I've never seen Gram act so rudely before. I wasn't used to it and I didn't want it to become a regular habit.

"Bye," Jim said abruptly, and then he was gone. I'd spent an hour and a half with that man and I could not understand what Gram could have against him. I chose to ignore the snide remarks they'd made to each other because I assume they would have considered liking each other. I can't pin point where it all went wrong.

I didn't want to be here in case of a fight, but I didn't want to leave and go back to Campus just yet. I wanted to be with my family. But apparently that wasn't possible right now. Clearly Gram was feeling uncomfortable too because it wasn't long until she excused herself as well. I figured it was my turn and I was out of there too. I wish I didn't have to leave because I really didn't know when I'd be free to see my Dad again.

This whole dinner was just too upsetting to think about.

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After everyone left, Castle sat on his couch with his head down.

"That's not how I thought it would go down," he said quietly. Beckett, who was standing by the door, looked at him. She moved to the kitchen and started cleaning everything up.

"Oh and I suppose _I wanted_ this to happen?" she said intensely and sarcastically.

"What are you doing?" he stood up and looked at her angrily, "What are you doing? We are not about to fight. I don't want to fight," he shook his head furiously. Beckett dropped the dinner plate she was holding and it made a splash in the sink.

"Neither do I, but…_are we kidding ourselves_?" she spoke so quietly, it barely came out as a whisper. Rick took a few steps closer to the kitchen, so he was only 2 meters away from Kate.

"What-What are you…What do you mean?" his voice dropped down low; he began speaking like a scared little boy.

"What does this mean for us?" she frowned and looked at him sadly waiting for an answer, "Our parents. They can't even sit through a dinner without acting the way they did,"

"So?" he asked suddenly.

"So what does that mean for _us_?" her voice raised slightly, she almost felt like she had to talk over the loud beating of her heart.

"I don't know Kate. What _does_ that mean for us?" Castle boomed. He tried to compete the volume of Kate's voice, "Nothing," he said normally.

"Nothing?" she repeated, also at a normal volume.

"Why should _they_ matter in our relationship? It's _our_ relationship Kate," he shrugged and suddenly, Beckett's argument was becoming weaker. She moved closer to Castle, now less than a meter distance was what separated them.

"But if they can't get along-"

"So what?" he interrupted. He walked closer to Kate, she looked down to the floor, "Listen to me," he said, holding her shoulders and gently easing her face upwards, "I'm not giving up on something that should have happened four years ago."

Kate blinked.

"Are we kidding ourselves? You tell me," he let her go and gave her a long hard stare, "Better yet, ne honest with yourself. Is that what you want?" he asked, "You want to destroy something that took so long to build. You want to end something we spent forever trying to establish. You want to kill something that could potentially be amazing," he paused for a moment, "You aren't getting rid of me. Whether I'm your plucky sidekick or your partner."

"It's not just that Castle, what about Gates and the Precinct?" she looked away.

"You want to bring that up again?" he raised his eyebrows in disbelief. She looked as though she was about to shrug but nothing happened, "Come on Kate. Your job is not what's holding you back. There's something there and I can't fix it unless you tell me what it is."

"We both deserve to be happy," she stated as though she was talking to herself.

"You make me happy," he whispered. She moved forward for embrace and he gripped her in a hug tightly, "Pancakes?" he asked.

"No. To be honest, I'm kind of getting sick of how often you make them," she laughed, "Waffles?"

Before she could say anything more, Castle was already pulling different things out of his pantry. He yanked out some whipped cream and syrup and placed them both down on the kitchen bench top. Beckett moved closer to the syrup when Rick wasn't looking ad slowly took the lid off.

"Ok, waffles with ice cream," he stated without bothering to ask Beckett. She looked at him with narrowed eyes and malicious grin on her face. He turned around to face her.

Kate gripped her around the bottle of syrup.

"What?" Castle asked.

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**A/N: **What did y'all think about Meet the Parents' Epilogue…& the ending? Let me know!


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